The Women’s Business Council (‘WBC’), chaired by Mitie’s chief executive Ruby McGregor Smith CBE, yesterday published its latest report “Maximising women’s contribution to future economic growth - two years on” addressing the issue of gender equality in the workplace.
Among a number of findings, this year’s report showed that achieving equal economic participation among men and women could lift the UK’s GDP by 10%, by 2030. It also revealed that if women were setting up and running new businesses at the same rate as men, the UK would have an extra one million female entrepreneurs.
Despite good progress made in the last two years, there is still much to do in gender equality. Among a range of proposals in this year’s report, the WBC looks to engage more men in gender equality through encouraging senior male leaders to become agents of change.
Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, Chair of the Women’s Business Council and Chief Executive of Mitie said:
“Our national economy needs women’s contribution, and action is required to remove the obstacles that currently restrict women from realising their full potential. These obstacles appear at all stages of women’s working lives and I am passionate about removing them.
“Creating better business cultures attracts the best talent to organisations. Our evidence shows that businesses with more diverse workforces are stronger performers, better at supporting individual needs, and more attuned to their customer base.
“By creating opportunity for all, raising aspirations and enabling people to maximise their talents, we will deliver stronger economic growth.”
In April 2015, Mitie was named as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women, for the fifth consecutive year, demonstrating its commitment to gender equality. The group places huge importance on attracting, developing and retaining the best female talent, and through its involvement in internal and external schemes, provides a supportive and inclusive environment for its people.
The Women’s Business Council was set up in 2012 to advise the Government on how to support women’s progress in the workplace and optimise their contribution to the economy. At the time, WBC outlined a number of recommendations for business and the Government to improve opportunities for women.
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For further information, contact:
Helen Greenwood, IR & PR Manager, Mitie Group plc
T:+44 20 3123 8731E:helen.greenwood@mitie.com
